Hallmark CEO responds to AT&T statement

The Hallmark Channel vs. AT&T U-verse battle is getting ugly. The latest: A statement from Bill Abbott, President and CEO, Hallmark Channels, who's responding to an earlier statement by AT&T.

Here's what Abbott has to say:

“It is unfortunate that AT&T U-verse’s statement of the situation is inaccurate. They are a multi-billion dollar organization bullying one of the nation’s last surviving independent cable networks by insisting on unreasonable rates that would seriously jeopardize our longevity. Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel are two of the few remaining family-friendly networks offered on television and represent less than 1% of AT&T’s total basic programming fees! Although we would have preferred to conduct the negotiations privately, we have been forced to comment since AT&T advised its customers weeks ago that Hallmark Channels may be dropped on August 31, 2010.”